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University of Arizona Core Facilities

The University of Arizona is home to a host of research resources called core facilities or cores—highly specialized testbed facilities available for use by faculty, students, and scientists in government and industry. The core facilities provides users with access not only to the latest instrumentation, but also to experienced staff with expertise in designing and conducting experiments and analyzing data.

Research core facilities, which focus on a variety of disciplines, are shared research facilities that offer:

Specialized scientific instruments/equipment for experimental research

Cutting-edge technologies for new product research and development

Services including training, education, and expert consultation

Vision

The Research, Discovery & Innovation office (RDI) facilitates the creation and sharing of new knowledge with a broad range of constituencies, as part of the super land-grant mission of the University of Arizona.

Mission

Core facilities, research institutes and centers at the University of Arizona play key roles in advancing and maintaining excellence in shared scholarship and creation of new knowledge. Core UA Research Facilities will ensure that UA researchers are at the forefront of their fields, and that they have the greatest possible impact:

in answering significant research questions;

in graduate and undergraduate training and education, and;

on economic development, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Core research facilities will facilitate synergism and are intended to be places where new cross-­disciplinary collaborations are born. Core research facilities will often be the primary point of contact between UA and companies needing our expertise to answer important research and development questions—a natural outgrowth of our land grant mission

Our core facilities are:

Unique: Capabilities are not available elsewhere on campus and, in many cases, within the region

Enabling: Open to a broad range of research, fostering a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration

Accessible: In centralized locations to make them equally accessible to all users

Sustainable: Generally recover their cost, or a portion of their cost, by charging user fees

FAQs

What are core facilities?Core facilities are centralized shared research resources that provide access to instruments, technologies, services, as well as expert consultation and other services to scientific and clinical investigators. The typical core facility is a discrete unit within an institution and may have dedicated personnel, equipment, and space for operations.

Who may use the core facilities?UA faculty and students from a range of disciplines may use core facilities, as individuals or in collaborative partnerships with the research community outside the University. Scientists from government, NGO and industry may also use core facilities and services.

How are core facilities funded?In general, core facilities recover their cost, or a portion of their cost, of providing service in the form of user fees that are charged to a core researcher’s funds – often federal grants, university funds, external revenue or any combination of these.

How can I find out about fees and availability?To learn more, we invite you to explore the core facilities below. Contact the core director or manager for information about availability and fees.